The use of cervical collars in the treatment of various neck injuries is well-known in the art. Such collars basically function by holding the wearer's head in a particular position, while relieving the strain from the neck. In many emergency situations, such as automobile accidents, neck injuries can be diagnosed by paramedics. In such cases it is important to put a neck brace on the patient as soon as possible. Consequently the ease of storage of cervical collars on emergency vehicles and the ease of application to the injured individual are very important.
Traditionally, cervical collars have been thick and bulky in order to provide maximum support to the wearer's head. As a result, the storage of such devices on emergency vehicles has been limited. Attempts have been made to reduce the size of cervical collars to allow for storage of many such devices in a small area. U.S. Pat. No. 3,164,151 to E. D. Vera Nicoll describes a collar which is inflatable. When deflated the collar is relatively small and takes up little space in storage; however, this type of collar can be easily punctured, leaving it inoperative. Furthermore, if it is improperly inflated, it may not provide adequate support to the wearer's head. U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,619 to Geoffrey C. Garth describes another collar which requires little storage space; however, it includes a chin support that is secured to the neck encircling band and which requires assemblage to position the chin support in an operable position.
Accordingly, it is an object of the current invention to provide a cervical collar which requires little storage space, requires no assemblage of the chin support, and is effective in providing support to the wearer's head.